South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the BRICS member states agreed to admit Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia as new members.
The five current member states have reached a “consensus on the first phase of this expansion process” and have invited the six states to become new members of the BRICS group from January 1, 2024, he said at the group’s leader’s summit in Johannesburg.
Reacting to the news, Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, said Iran’s full membership in BRICS is a “historic development” and a “strategic success” for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic.
“Felicitations to the Leader of Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] and the great nation of Iran,” Jamshidi said via X, formerly Twitter.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the expansion of BRICS will inject new impetus to the group’s cooperation mechanism.
This expansion has reflected BRICS’ determination for unity and cooperation, Xi said at the summit.
According to reports published by Iranian media outlets, the 6 countries will join the BRICS group from January 1, 2024.
BRICS is made up of India, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa. Heads of states of the group held their 15th annual summit in Johannesburg earlier on Wednesday, agreeing on mechanisms for considering new members and calling for the use of local currencies to facilitate trade.
MP/PR
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